Public Participation Plan 9-17-2020RafergusmILLER 275 Fifth Street, Suite 100 Bremerton, WA 98337
(360) 377-8773 rfmarch.com
ARCHITECTURE INTERIORS PLANNING VIZLAB
SOUTH KITSAP COMMUNITY EVENTS CENTER
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROGRAM
9.17.2020
STEERING COMMITTEE
John Morrissey - Kitsap Public Facilities District, Director for Port Orchard
PtOrchard@kitsap-pfd.org
Rob Putaansuu - City of Port Orchard, Mayor
rputaansuu@cityofportorchard.us
Nick Bond - City of Port Orchard, Development Director
nbond@cityofportorchard.us
Keri Sallee - City of Port Orchard, Long Range Planner
ksallee@cityofportorchard.us
Jill Jean - Kitsap Regional Library, Library Director
iiean@krl.org
Steve Rice - Rice Fergus Miller, Principal/Architect
srice@rfmarch.com
Lorie Limson Cook - Rice Fergus Miller, Project Manager/Architect
Ilimsoncook@rfmarch.com
I. INTRODUCTION
City of Port Orchard, Kitsap Regional Library and Rice Fergus Miller are conducting public outreach
sessions to review the South Kitsap Community Events Center (SKCEC) project as required by the
Regional Center Interlocal Agreement (RCILA) between the Kitsap Public Facilities District (KPFD)
and the City of Port Orchard to construct.
Rice Fergus Miller is under contract for Phase 1 (RCILA Tasks 1 & 2) to conduct feasibility studies,
programming, conceptual and schematic design. A minimum of three public outreach sessions are
planned during this phase in addition to continuous public communication updates as we work
towards completion of a selected site and schematic design for this project at the end of this phase.
The purpose of this document is to identify the public participation objectives, approach, audiences,
schedule, and opportunities for public participation. This document may be updated over time to
reflect the needs of the project.
II.OBJECTIVES
The Public Participation Objectives include:
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9.23.2020
• Obtain public input regarding site and building programming and design
• Provide opportunities for public participation to review and offer feedback on the overall
project.
• Provide regular updates to the public so they understand the issues at hand, solutions in
design and the progress of this publicly funded work.
• Use a variety of communication methods while observing WA state regulations in the
prevention of the spread of COVID (such as virtual meetings, online surveys, media, social
media, mailers, etc.) to offer all residents a variety of ways to participate safely and
comfortably.
• Make the public outreach and participation inclusive to people of all ages, races, cultures,
and genders while providing special attention to the residents and businesses of the
community.
III. APPROACH
Serotonin Creative, under contract through Rice Fergus Miller, will take the lead in the public
outreach process. They are a digital agency specializing in public relations, content creation, and
social media strategy, among other communications specialties. They will create, organize, monitor,
gather the data from public input and provide a summary report on all public outreach efforts. They
will work in collaboration with the City of Port Orchard, Kitsap Regional Library and Rice Fergus
Miller in all public communications efforts. Public notification of any upcoming public outreach
events will be handled collectively by this group to maximize the extents of outreach to a large and
meaningful audience.
IV. AUDIENCES
There are several audiences - individuals and agencies - that we will contact to participate in this
public outreach sessions and to whom we will provide regular communication on project updates:
• General Public: Port Orchard residents, property owners, and business owners.
• Elected and Appointed Officials: City Councilmembers, Planning Commissioners, Design
Review Board Members.
• Non -City Service Providers: Special districts such as Water and Sewer District, Fire District,
Kitsap Transit, etc.
• Non -governmental Organizations: Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Port Orchard,
South Kitsap Rotary and other service clubs, the Port Orchard Bay Street Association
(POBSA), Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners (KAPO), Futurewise, Vibe Coworks, Kitsap
Conference Center, Kitsap County Trade Show organizations, Kitsap Economic
Development Alliance, Chris Craft Rendezvous Organizers, etc.
• State, Regional, City and Other Local Government Organizations: Kitsap Public Facilities
District, Puget Sound Regional Council, Kitsap County, Kitsap Regional Coordinating
Council, the Suquamish Tribe, and the cities of Bremerton, Gig Harbor, Poulsbo, Bainbridge
Island, WSDOT, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the
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Department of Ecology, the Port of Bremerton, and the Department of Natural Resources,
Port Orchard Police Department.
• Military: The US Navy, NAVSEA, PSNS, Bangor, Ombudsman Assembly, U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs and other veterans organizations
• Educational Groups: With a focus getting input not only from educators, but also parents
and students, South Kitsap School District, Olympic College, WSU, Boys and Girls Club,
OESD 114, Olympic Kitsap Early Learning Coalition, OurGEMS, West Sound STEM
Network, Leadership Kitsap, Homeschool Groups, South Kitsap Student Body leadership,
PTSA, DECA, Student Activism Groups, Kitsap Youth Activism, SKHS Crew Team
• Civic/Cultural Groups: NAACP, KIAC, Council for Human Rights, Fathoms of Fun, LGBTQ,
League of Women Voters, Long Lake Garden Club, Manchester Citizens Advisory Group,
Manchester Community Association; arts and entertainment groups like WWCA and The
Roxy; Fathoms O' Fun Festival Coordinators; online community groups and other South
Kitsap civic groups
• Social Welfare/Religious Groups: Housing Kitsap, KCR, KRM KPHD, Kitsap Rescue Mission,
The Coffee Oasis, Stand Up for Kids, Salvation Army, Kitsap Aging and Long-term Care,
Givens Community Center, SK Helpline, Meals on Wheels, Washington Veterans Homes,
YWCA, area churches and affiliated faith and religious groups
Business Development Groups: SBDC, KEDA, Kitsap Visitors Bureau, WorkSource
• Library Groups: Patrons, Friend of the Library, Volunteers, Board of Trustees, Foundation
Board, Puget Sound Genealogical Society
Other underrepresented groups. We will continue to update this audience list as we
progress.
V. ROLE OF DECISION MAKERS
City Council: The City Council will provide policy guidance and is the final decision maker for the
approval of the site and building design. Council members will be notified of public outreach
sessions and are invited to participate early in the planning process. All public outreach sessions will
be noticed appropriately so that all Council members are able to fully participate in these events.
The Council will receive periodic updates and will review the Steering Committee recommendations
for the project. Council will have a meeting in January 2021 to make the final project site selection
and approval of the program. They will have another meeting in October 2021 to review the
schematic design, conduct a feasibility study with KPFD, confirm the approval to move forward
with the project and approve the contract for Rice Fergus Miller and the rest of the design team to
proceed with Phase 2.
Steering Committee: The SKCEC Steering Committee members are listed at the beginning of this
document.
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City of Port Orchard will provide policy recommendations and conduct initial review and feedback
on presentations to the City Council.
Kitsap Regional Library will provide similar guidance and feedback relative to the library operations
and programming.
Rice Fergus Miller will provide project management of the public outreach team and design team
efforts. They will work closely with Serotonin Creative to ensure all public outreach efforts and
communications stay on track and that we comply with all public record requirements, as outlined
by the City of Port Orchard. They will also lead the design team in ensuring project goals and
objectives are met.
VI. ROLE OF THE PUBLIC
The South Kitsap Community Events Center is being created for the public -their use, their benefit
and their enjoyment. In order for this to be successful, it is important to hear their interests and
desires so they are part of our conversations and decision making in programming, planning and
design of this facility. It is also important to retain the public's interest throughout this process by
making participation as inclusive, interesting and accessible as possible. This will be accomplished
through advertising, outreach, stakeholder involvement, and various public communication
platforms.
The Washington State Department of Commerce lists benefits of including citizens in the process:
• Enhances the quality of planning by incorporating a wide variety of information and
perspectives.
• Allows communities to make decisions based on shared values.
• Engage citizens in the ownership of local land use challenges and solutions.
• Educates and empowers citizens.
• Supports swift and efficient project implementation.
• Ensures that good plans remain relevant over time.
• Fosters a sense of community and trust in government.
VII. METHODS AND SCHEDULE
The ongoing COVID pandemic presents a unique challenge to our team to effectively maintain
communication and constant connection with the public. We will be using methods that safely
observe all WA State regulations for public safety and social distancing. Internet access will be a
key tool for many of the platforms to be used (i.e. virtual meetings, social media, online surveys,
emails, etc.). Since not all citizens may have access to this, we will also utilize traditional methods as
an alternative (i.e. mail, combination virtual and in -person meetings, etc.) We will find ways to reach
out to a variety of groups to encourage involvement from as wide an audience as possible.
The following tools will be employed to achieve widespread and ongoing citizen involvement:
• 1st Public Outreach Event:
o This will bean online survey that will be open to the public for 3 weeks in late
September to early October 2020 and will be focused on questions about the
building program.
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o The Port Orchard branch of Kitsap Regional Library will provide the public outdoor
access to Wi-Fi to facilitate community participation.
o Public notification, including the opening and closing time of the survey plus a link to
the survey website will be communicated to the public in a variety of mediums.
• 2nd Public Outreach Event:
o Depending on the WA State social distancing policies at the time, this could be a
combination of a virtual and in -person meeting to be held middle to late November
2020.
o Presentation of the conceptual design will be shared with the public for feedback.
3rd Public Outreach Event:
o This will be held in 2021 to present the progress of the schematic design to provide
an opportunity for public feedback.
o We will review the WA State social distancing policies at that time and will
determine the most appropriate platform to use for this effort.
Continuous Public Communication:
o Additional public outreach events may be held as determined from public feedback
and the Steering Committee
o Effective notice of all public outreach events
• Underrepresented groups will be specifically targeted for outreach
• The date, time, location and/or any online web links to the events will be
published early enough and widely enough for all interested citizens to be
notified
• Notice will be published in the Kitsap Sun (official newspaper of record) and
possibly also the Kitsap Sun
• Regular press releases will be published ahead of public meetings, and city
staff will be available for interested reporters and media outlets
• Postings in public spaces, social media updates, and email subscription lists
o Written comments and online public feedback forms will be provided
o Interested Parties List will be maintained for notification of all public outreach events
and press or social media releases of project updates.
IX. CONCLUSION
This Public Participation Program is being presented to City Council for approval and
implementation based on the outlined schedule. This program may be updated as conditions
change or additional resources to support outreach activities become available. A copy of the
program shall be made available for viewing at the front counter of the Department of Community
Development and on the city's website.
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